Philophobia
by Lemon Lyle
Summary: "You're stronger than this, Haruno. I wouldn't let a sniveling wimp defeat me. Save your tears for something bigger than Uchiha." *If you can get by the first two chapters, it get's better.*
1. Independent

**Philophobia**

I

* * *

After a lovely pink haired kunoichi won her match with the crude Ino Yamanaka, she thought everything okay, and was relaxed until...

Sakura Haruno gasped and clutched to the rail hard, her knuckles turning white. She watched Rock Lee, yes; the young Rock Lee who had saved her life back in the Forest of Death, battle against Gaara of the Sand; a monster. After his Hidden Lotus, Lee was laying on the cold floor, limp and bleeding, his breath quivering. Gaara had gotten up, his sand starting to shift in clouds around him, getting ready to shoot forward and kill.

After breaking the taijutsu specialist's arm and leg, he still wasn't stopping?! Sakura bit her lip, weighing her options. She knew she couldn't do anything; that she would probably only end up getting killed or make things even worse for the jumpsuit-wearing ninja.

But the risk of Lee dying out-weighted her other doubts.

"Lee-san!" Sakura screamed, flinging herself over the rail before Kakashi-sensei or Naruto could do anything about it. She pushed chakra into her feet just as Gaara's sand shot forward, with murderous intent.

* * *

Gaara's glare intensified as Shukaku roared in his head to kill this mother fucker. Oh yes, he was going to die by Gaara's hand. Right here, right now.

**Pull off his limbs one by one! Killhimkillhimkillhimkillhim! KILL! RIP! SHRED!**

As his arm raised, Gaara's sand spun restlessly, eager to spill this dipshit's blood all over the place. He pulled his sand back, forming it into a wave, fully intending to crush the boy who dared touch him.

_Crash_

Where Gaara's eyebrows would have been furrowed together. His sand was attacking something that had gotten in the way. Growling menacingly, his sand pushed harder against the blockage, trying to tip it over, with no avail.

That's when the loud shriek of pain caught Gaara's attention.

His sand slowly stopped it's assault, revealing a small kunoichi, who had her arms crossed in front of her face for protection from his rough sand. Her legs were bent to keep herself from being knocked over. The bloody wounds all over her arms looked painful and deep. As Gaara looked closer into one, he saw grains of his sand still stuck disgustingly into the torn flesh. Blood dripped from her elbows onto the floor, pooling down by her feet. The red contrasted with the white of her skin, looking almost..._beautiful._

But what really made him stare, was her unnatural pink hair. Not her blood.

The pleasure at seeing crimson spilt didn't flood over him, excite him, or make him twitch and fidget in complete blood lust when he looked at the bleeding girl. Even with her blood splattered in fascinating patterns on her unnatural locks. This itself puzzled him.

_Shukaku...why is it not pleasurable? Why does her blood everywhere not help with my existence?! _For once in the young sand-nin's life, the demon inside of him was silent.

Slowly, the pinkette spread her arms out in front of the bowl-headed ninja, as if to protect him from another one of Gaara's attacks. From where he was standing, he could see the cuts and bruises his sand left all over her pale face.

"Don't hurt him." Her voice was raspy from the pain she must of been feeling, but when Gaara locked his gaze with hers, determination glittered in the emerald swirls of her eyes.

As he looked away from the interfering girl, he saw a man who looked exactly like the sorry excuse for a ninja Rock Lee (Gai), pick up the bloody boy in his arms. Gaara's jade orbs narrowed, one twitching.

"My chance to kill him is gone..." He ground his teeth deadly.

His bloodthirsty eyes shifted back to the girl, who visibly tensed. He stalked towards her, stopping only when he was close enough that his nose almost touched her forehead as he glared down at her. To his discomfort, he realized he wasn't that much taller then the kunoichi.

But he didn't let that fact stop him from leaning to her ear and hiss in an aggravated tone. "Do not interfere again, or I will kill you." The girl shuddered. He mentally flinched. What happened to her determination a moment ago?

"Don't underestimate me, you cocky bastard," the kunoichi snarled loudly. Gaara pulled away from her slowly, his face visibly twisting menacingly. There it was. Well, at least he knew she was independent.

"You're going to regret being born if you anger me, kunoichi." The sand user threatened in his rough voice. This, however, didn't seem to bother her.

"Don't call me 'kunoichi'. My name is Sakura Haruno." After addressing herself, Sakura's eyes flashed furiously. "I won't sit around and take you killing one of my friends lightly. Lee-san saved my life. The least I can do is return the favor." The Leaf genin looked over her shoulder to watch Rock Lee being wheeled away on a white stretcher. Sakura's heart fell, sadness seeping into her glowing green eyes. Gaara noticed this as she turned back to him, a small smile on her lips. "So, if keeping my promise means fighting you and getting killed, so be it."

On the inside, the Suna shinobi was in complete awe. She barely knew the guy, and yet she would risk her own life for him? As he locked gazes with her once more, he saw something that made his heart beat painfully, and a dull stab of pain to shoot through his head.

_Love._

Love for the taijutsu-only-shinobi. That's what gave her eyes that little sparkle.

"I don't want to fight, Gaara-san," her voice held an unknown promise. "Please, just don't hurt Lee-san any more." Sakura looked sad for a moment, then regained her composer. Gaara blinked once, but didn't let his surprise show as he glared at the girl infront of him.

How could she be so...so..._kind?! _Well, Gaara would have to change that, now wouldn't he?

"Well, Haruno, if you don't me to kill one of your _friends,_" he hissed the word with venom, "maybe I should kill you instead?" said girl tensed, falling into a battle stance.

"Bring it on, Sand Man."

* * *

Sakura inwardly flinched as Gaara twitched at his nickname. _Maybe I shouldn't of said that..._

**Cha! We can take him! BEAUTY IS THE NEW STRENGTH BABY! **Inner roared. She mentally growled at Inner Sakura.

_He almost killed Lee-san! You think we could defeat him?! And how the heck does beauty have anything do to with this?_

**Don't be such a wuss. Now, enough talking! Just fight the goddamn hottie already!**

_Hottie...? _Mentally, Sakura's jaw fell slack.

**Yeah! He is, and you know it. Oh crap, watch- **Inner didn't get to finish her warning as sand hit Sakura in the stomach, sending her backwards. She steadied herself in time to stop from falling; and then charged at the Hidden Sand genin.

"SAKURA-CHAAAAAN!"

As she looked from the corner of her eyes, she saw Naruto being held back by Kakashi-sensei. As their sensei leaned down to say something to the trembling-with-anger blond, Naruto growled and stopped struggling. Turning her attention back to the battle at hand, Sakura raised a chakra encased fist and landed the sickening blow into Gaara's..._sand_?!

_Crap!_

Trying to get another hit at the red head as his sand gripped painfully around her wrist, Sakura sent chakra to her left leg and kicked again; only to get the Suna shinobi's sand wrapped around her ankle, too.

"Let me go!" She snapped heatedly.

"With pleasure." the grip his sand had on her tightened forcefully, making her let out a heartbreaking wail. It (the sand) slowly lifted her off the ground, and then hit her back with such force that when she hit the ground with a _THUD!_, blood spit out of her mouth. As she sat up, it pooled over her pink lips, leaving her panting harshly. She glared furiously at him, getting back up on her feet.

"How dare you!" She growled. "You're going to rethink about touching me again." **_Easier said then done! _**Inner Sakura cried anime style.

_Shut up! _Sakura snapped. _I just need to think of a plan..._Literally, a light bulb appeared above her head. Sending another load of chakra to her feet for a burst of speed, she sent herself flying at Gaara. As expected, his sand came up to protect him; but she was one step ahead. As the sand smashed into Sakura's stomach and lifted her off the ground, the pinkette quickly took out a kunai from her pouch and stabbed the grainy subtance. It recoiled slightly; but just enough for Sakura to heave herself up and onto it, then run along it and straight at Gaara.

Pulling back her chakra encased fist, Sakura knew that the sand wouldn't make it in time to shield him from this blow. When she was close enough to him, her fist made contact with the flesh of his cheek; sending him sliding back. Landing on her feet as Gaara's sand let her fall, she panted heavily, straightening up and wiping off the blood that was starting to dry on her lips.

"That," she let her arm fall to her side as Gaara got to his feet, an angry looking bruise forming on his face. "Is why you never mess with Sakura Haruno." Icily turning her back on the glaring genin, she walked away and to the bathrooms, washing off the blood and gently getting out the grains of sand. Once that was done, Sakura looked into the mirror.

Her eyes narrowed. "I look terrible." She breathed. Black, blue and purple bruises literally _plastered _her pretty face; small cuts and scratches demanding attention also. Shaking her head, the small kunoichi dragged her feet back to where Naruto and Kakashi were waiting, suddenly feeling very tired.

"God, Sakura!" Naruto nearly screamed at her as she stumbled over to the ramen loving goof. "I...I thought you were going to be killed!" He hugged her hard, but a second later let go, mumbling apologies. Sakura just shook her head, and pulled Naruto back to hug him closely.

"I'm fine," she whispered, letting go to look a shocked Naruto in the eyes with a smile. "I'm sorry I made you worry." Sakura put her hand over her mouth as she coughed. Instently, Naruto bambarded her with questions.

"Are you alright?! Do you need the medics to look at you?! Sakura-chan! ARE YOU GOING TO DIE?! DON'T DIE ON ME!"

The now annoyed girl slammed her fist into the blonde's head, growling. "I'm fine!" Seeing the relieved look in Naruto's eyes, the pinkette laughed.

Little did Sakura know, a very irrated red-head was watching her from the sidelines, plotting his bloody revenge.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not and will not ever own Naruto. All credit for the anime/manga/characters goes to Masashi Kishimoto

A/N: So? What do you think? This is my first GaaSaku fanfic, and I'm kind of pleased with it. Kind of. Constructive criticism please! I don't have a Beta yet, so there might be some grammical errors. ._. Thanks for reading!

Song for this chapter: Independent - Webbie

EDIT (2013): Changed the name of the story all together. It was hurting my eyeballs. :p Philophobia is the fear of being in love/falling in love.


	2. Breath

**Philophobia  
**

II

* * *

Two sea foam eyes glared in the direction of Haruno. The Haruno who defeated _him-Gaara of the Sand _for Christ's sake. This fact irked him to no other. It made him want to kill her. No, make her suffer. Kill her dreadful friends and family, and then make her beg for death before complying with her wish and killing her without any regret. Slowly strangling her with his sand, looking into those beautiful green eyes that held an affectionate glow when they locked gazes, and waiting as that gorgeous face was only inches away from his own. Her pink lips touching his ever so gently-

Wait. What was he thinking?

_Shukaku, _Gaara growled within the dark resources of his mind, _what's happening to me? _The sand user waited for a reply, narrowing his sights on the pink haired kunoichi on the other side of the arena, hitting that annoying blond over the head before laughing and ruffling his hair. He pitied her. Those damned emotions only got in the way of becoming stronger, better.

When Haruno turned and spotted him staring at her, her cheeks reddened considerably as her eyebrows furrowed. She whipped her head around the other way when Naruto Uzumaki-Gaara remembered him from the first Chuunin test-put his hand to her forehead. Just catching a glimpse of the pink haired girl, Gaara's heart beat faster, his blood pounding in his ears.

_What is this? _He looked down at his chest, clutching the fabric near his heart in a death grip. _Does that stupid girl hold some kind of unknown power over us?_

**Wow. She's one tough chick. I like 'em feisty!**

_What do you mean, Shukaku? _Gaara had almost always understood what the beast inside of him said. Almost. His eye twitched when the dog/raccoon chuckled. Gaara didn't like being laughed at.

**She would make a good mate for us, squirt. **Before the red-head could ask who, an image of Haruno smiling gently appeared behind his closed eye lids. **She's not afraid to stand up to us. And hell-she won! She beat the crap out of you, don't try to deny it. **At this, where the sand-nin's eyebrows should have been pulled together. **She may have the figure of a card board box, but it'll come in soon. You ****can't tell me you aren't attracted to her.**

The Suna shinobi growled. _Why would I be attracted to _her_?_

_**Not now, but maybe in three years.**_

_Why do you insist she be our mate? _Gaara fidgeted, irritated. _If, by chance, she _was _our mate-what would we do?_

The one-tailed beast laughed. **Don't you know what to do with a female-oh, right. No ones told you about the nasty-nasty yet. Haha. **Gaara was about to ask what the hell he was talking about, when Shukaku interrupted. **Don't look now, but Pinky is staring at us. **Reopening his eyes, he turned his head to Pinky-Haruno. _Haruno,_ he scolded himself.

**I said don't look! **Shukaku yelled. Gaara snapped his head around, feeling his heart speed up as he glared at the defenceless floor. From the corner of his eye, the red head saw the shocked green eyes of his sister staring at him.

"What?" he rasped, crossing his arms over his chest, putting up his expressionless facade.

Temari seemed lost for breath. "Nothing..." She whispered, looking away. Gaara turned, but still caught a slight glimpse of Temari's four spiky pony-tailed head leaning toward Kankuro, tapping his shoulder and whispering something in his ear that Gaara didn't catch. He was too intent on watching Haruno as she waved to her sensei and "friend", before turning and walking down the steps and going through the double doors.

Taking this moment as to put his revenge scheme into action, Gaara stalked away from his so called "siblings", down the stairs, and after the young, pink kunoichi. It didn't take long to catch up to her, as he guessed she was going to the infirmary to visit that snobby Uchiha brat. Cleverly walking along the ceiling and masking his chakra, Gaara watched as she twirled a strand of pink around her forefinger, giggling to herself. One of the sand user's eyebrow-less eyebrows lifted up. What was she thinking about? Surely, not that weak Uchiha? Haruno clasped her hands together, adding a skip to her step as she kicked her speed up a notch. He quickly followed just to where he was hovering over her body.

**Wonder what she's thinking about...? **Shukaku thought absentmindedly. The red-head narrowed his eyes again.

_What the hell is your problem?! _He snapped.

The tailed beast snorted. **Well, aren't we a bit angry today? **While Gaara was yelling at the stupid raccoon-dog, his hands had gripped onto the ceiling roughly, causing a few pieces of rubble to fall on Haruno's head.

**Shit! **Shukaku panicked, snapping the sand-nin to pause in his rant. His eyes flickered down to the rosette. She only flung the little white specks off her hair, and kept on walking.

Gaara swiftly let go of his hold on the ceiling, falling without a sound on his feet. His heart felt like it was about to race right out of his body as he hit his chest, growling loudly. The soft _tap tap tap _of footsteps stopped suddenly.

Oops.

* * *

Sakura waved goodbye to her sensei and Naruto, before turning her back on them and walking down the stairs quietly, pushing the double doors open and slipping through. The only sound was her sandals on the linoleum as she took a left down the white halls. She wanted to tell Sasuke that Naruto had won his match with Neji, and what happened to Lee. She wanted to show Sasuke her first battle scars. She wanted to tell Sasuke the story of her punching Gaara of the Sand in the face and living to tell the tale!

Sakura smiled to herself. _Maybe he'll be proud of me? _The thought left a warm tingle in her stomach as her grin grew wider.

**Cha! **Inner Sakura butted in.** Of course he's going to be proud! Maybe he'll even _kiss us!_**

Sakura picked up a strand of her hair, twisting it around her index finger. She giggled. _I hope so! _She clapped her hands together, skipping happily. She started gently humming to herself as she pictured the image of Sasuke kissing her. _Aha! _She thought as she pumped a fist into the air. _Beat you, Ino-pig! _While the rosette gloated with her Inner, a small tickle on the top of her head pulled her from her Sasuke filled thoughts. She brushed it away, thinking it may be just a bug or her hair was parted wrong. Stopping to run her fingers through her soft petal locks, a loud growl startled her.

Turning her head around, she saw the hall was empty. Cocking a delicate brow, she shook her head, mumbling "weird" before she took a few more steps, haulting in front of Sasuke's room.

"Sasuke-kun..." Sakura gulped, her heart rate speeding up as she reached for the door knob. She twisted it and opened the door a crack, butterflies fluttering around in her tummy. "S-sasuke-kun..." She called out, inhaling deeply before exhaling. "Can I come in?"

Sakura waited, but when she heard no reply, she began to close the door. _He must be asleep. _She thought sadly, wanting to join Inner Sakura crying in a corner.

"Hn."

Sakura stopped her actions, green eyes widening. He was awake? Opening the door fully, she stepped inside, closing the door behind her. Sasuke was sitting up in his bed, his chest tightly bound with gauze as well as his upper arms and forehead. His eyes avoided hers as he stared out the window. Just seeing her Sasuke-kun like this made the young kunoichi upset.

"How are you feeling?" She pulled herself together, smiling sweetly at the wounded boy as she pulled up a seat next to his hospital bed. "You look pretty bad..."

Sasuke sent a glare her way. "I'm fine." Sakura let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. His eyes, even angry, were just so...calming to her.

"That's good." She looked over at the window, suddenly feeling hot. "Would you like the window opened?" Sakura nervously got up, walking around the foot of the bed and by the source of light. Undoing both of the locks, she pushed it up, letting out a sigh as the warm summer breeze drifted into the small white room.

"What happened to you?"

Realization struck home as she turned giddy. Sasuke didn't sound proud. He sounded, well, just like normal Sasuke. This fact made a cold shiver run up her spine, no matter how hot it was in the room. Sakura turned, a nervous smile on her face. Inner Sakura had since long gone quiet, watching as if it was a drama movie on TV.

"Oh," she replied lamely. "It's nothing."

When their eyes locked, she gasped at the intecity of his glare. It almost frightened her. Almost. "It doesn't look like nothing." His voice was icy cold, making goosebumps rise on her slender arms. "Come over here." Sakura could do the only thing her body would let her do.

Obey.

As she took a few shaky steps to the edge of the bed, she hesitantly sat down in a chair. Although Sasuke's expression was bored now, he reached out, his hand barely a hairs length from her face. Sakura's breathing hitched, while her eyes widened. Was he going to caress her cheek like she had read in romance books? Where the boy always leaned forward slowly, planning on kissing the shocked girl?

As the rosette leaned forward ever so slightly, a blushing mess, Sasuke's finger connected with a purple bruise on her cheek. Recoiling from the sudden pain, a stoney grip on her wrist made her snap to her senses. Sasuke twisted her arm, so the gashes could be seen. After looking at them, he let go roughly, grunting.

"What were you thinking?" His tone was slightly challenging as Sakura stuttered. "Getting into a fight like that could of cost you your life, stupid." With her mouth slightly ajar, the kunoichi blinked, wondering if this was even real. She had defeated Gaara of the Sand for kami's sake, and he was the first person she was going to tell. This was how he was treating her? Inner Sakura flared up to the challenge, glaring full out at the Sharringan user as outer Sakura stared blankly.

**What did you say, Uchiha?! **Inner lifted up a boulder. **How dare you call me stupid! Look what kind of situation your in! Yeah, that's right. A hospital bed. You didn't even save anybodies life, and your sitting in that bed like your high and mighty. **Inner Sakura stomped around, throwing her arms in the air and screaming. **I saved Lee's life, defeated Gaara, and look at me! I'm worse than you, and I'm still walking! **As Inner Sakura cooled down from her rant, she shook her head.

Sakura didn't make an attempt to stop her inner, as shock made her silent. He was so...mean. Unlike her Sasuke. He seemed even colder now that she looked at him.

"Who did you fight?"

The question broke through the tense silence as Sasuke looked back at her, not letting anything slip through his emotionless facade. When emerald locked with onyx, the rosette gulped. His eyes were different than his attitude. Even though they showed nothing, she could see the past pain in his stare. It seemed to swallow her. Again, she couldn't help but answer.

"Gaara of the Sand."

* * *

Disclaimer: I think I already told you this before, but I don't own Naruto. And I never will... -cries in corner-

A/N: Okay, so, this is the second chapter. To say the least, I am NOT happy with it in any shape or form. I don't like it at all. But, I'm stilled pinned down by this giant, hulking green beast with long, curved, bloody claws, horns, and pointy ears that goes by the name of Endless Writer's Block. He's so mean! T.T He ate my last brownie. Anyway, while I go back and try to defeat this terrible creature, I hope you even slightly enjoyed this chapter. ('Cause I didn't). -holds up spatula- Onward, into battle! CHAAAAARGE!

Song for this chapter: Breath - Breaking Benjamin

A/N 2: GOMENASAI FOR THE LATE UPDATE! D; Please forgive me! -gets on floor and begs- -gets hit with tomato- T-T


	3. Broken Beginning

**Philophobia**

III

* * *

The rage inside Sasuke was like no other—why in the hell had Sakura been so stupid as to challenge _Gaara_? Was she losing her mind? Did she even care that losing her would leave Sasuke alone in this world? Did she even care about him enough to realize that he _needed _her, and that he couldn't be without her? But the biggest question that clawed it's way agonizingly to the front of his brain was..._Why did she do this?  
_

His anger was too much for him. His blood began to boil at her foolishness, his hands clenching into fists so tight, his knuckles changed to an ugly color of white rage. He turned his flaming red gaze onto Sakura, who visibly shrunk away from him, looking small and vulnerable—afraid.

Afraid of him.

The Uchiha slammed his fists into his bed, sitting upright and turning to Sakura (who had started backing away). Sasuke was forced to get out of his bed so he could face her straight on. Swinging his legs off the side, he placed his bare feet on the ground, the cool tiles making goosebumps rise on his arms. As he pushed himself up, suppressing a groan, he stalked over to Sakura; who was now pressed tightly against the wall, as if wishing the wall to swallow her whole, to hide her.

"Why is Sasuke-kun angry?" She whispered, looking confused, her voice watery. In the back of his dark mind, Sasuke knew it was wrong to punish her like this—but he pushed away from that thought, shoving it deeper into the darkness.

"What the hell, Sakura?" Sasuke snarled, only a forearm's length away from touching the kunoichi. Said kunoichi whimpered in defeat, looking up at him with wide emerald eyes. If the black haired boy wasn't observant, he might not have noticed the tears building in her eyes that she was furiously batting away with her eyelashes.

"I-I don't know," she stuttered, trying to get farther away from him, her back pressing against the wall firmly. Her lips were quivering—but this only made Sasuke's fury go to new highs. She had every goddamn reason to be sorry!

He smashed his left fist into the wall an inch away from Sakura's head. She let out a terrified squeak in response, looking at his hand like it was going to wrap around her slender, graceful neck, to strangle her if she moved even an inch more. Sasuke didn't like it when she showed such fear of him—but she needed to learn from her actions. His body and mind willed him to take the shaking, beautiful girl in his arms and calm her—

"You could have been killed, you idiot!" Sasuke snapped angrily, all the warm thoughts leaving him as he punched the wall again, trying to get out his pent up frustration. _I can't have her. No, not like this. Fuck._

"Then you would have left only Naruto and I for Team Seven!" He saw the pinkette flinch. His fury seeped into his words, lacing it with all the malice he could muster at Sakura. "You stupid, irritating girl, how could you do something so reckless? I thought you were smarter than that!"

Sakura put her arms in front of her face, trying to create a barrier between them. "I'm sorry, Sasuke!" Her voice was broken, and then Sasuke knew—he had finally put a chip in her spirit.

She looked up at him then, her emerald eyes swirling with hot tears. Her bottom lip was quivering, her whole body shrinking and shivering like she was caught in a snow storm with no coat. He ached to make her feel better, but he... Just couldn't. His pride wouldn't let him. So he just gazed back at her, suppressing a rush of guilt.

"I never meant to be a burden..." Sakura whispered, dropping her arms. "You can hit me," her body began to tremble even harder now, the tears spilling over and down her pink cheeks. "I just...I just wanted...to prove I was as good as you and Naruto. I even saved Lee's life by stepping in to fight Gaara," she hiccuped, putting a hand over her mouth to stifle the sound.

_Sakura wouldn't cry in front of somebody else... Her defenses are down around me._

Sasuke's senses flared up when he realized how close he was to his pink haired teammate. God, she had gotten even more gorgeous in these past years. Her short hair suited her, made her look more mature.

_What the fuck am I thinking? _No, he did not love her. But... If Sasuke kept letting his guard down around Sakura... He could tell something was going to change. For better or for worse, he did not know. And that irritated him endlessly.

Sakura's head was tilted up to his while he locked eyes with her, his a swirling shade of ebony with hints of red. He could feel himself falling into the depths of her jade colored orbs... Normally, this wouldn't phase him. But thinking about how he had almost lost her to such a monster...

He reached out and moved a pink lock away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. In her beautiful, bruised face, he saw all of her pent up pain, her confusion...and forgiveness. Forgiveness he didn't deserve. He was killing her.

Even without words, he knew what she was feeling. She was like an open book to him, just waiting to be read, for somebody to turn the light pages of her heart.

"Ah, Sakura," his voice was raspy as he leaned into her, breathing in her sweet, honeysuckle scent. Why had he waited so long to do this? Right now, breathing her in, he couldn't remember. All he saw, all he felt, was her, and the feelings he had suppressed. It felt...so right.

"You always let your emotions get the best of you." But he couldn't. No. His will power was stronger than this-it would ruin their delicate relationship he endlessly tore at, testing her, everything; and he wasn't about to let that happen. He pushed away from Sakura, adopting his usual scowl. As he backed up, he studied her stunned face, her softly flushed and tear stained cheeks; those beautiful, vibrant green eyes; soft pink lips; long lashes and unnatural hair. This girl...he looked her up and down. Just by stepping into his life, she had almost caused his careful planning to come crashing down. How could she do this to him, of all people?

"Get out," Sasuke barked, making Sakura jump. When she didn't move, he activated his Sharringan fully, hoping to startle her.

It worked.

The rosette hung her head in defeat, walking slowly past him on her way to the door. God...He hated seeing her so sad, so... Broken. It tore through him as well, the pain that he had just inflicted on the helpless flower. Before he could doubt his decision to get rid of her, he braced himself for what he was about to say next. He turned to face Sakura just as she was almost out the door.

"You will never be as good as Naruto and I," he hissed with as much venom as he could muster. He saw Sakura cringe, stopping in her tracks. _Perfect._ He continued. "Your damn emotions always get in the way of becoming stronger." Sakura looked back at Sasuke then, moisture making her cheeks glisten.

She was crying. This time, it wasn't just a few small tears—they came down from her eyes and continued to flow, her lips knitted in a shattered frown.

He icily turned his back on her, folding his arms. The image of his sakura blossom, fragmented because of words uttered from his own poisoned lips, would forever be burned into his mind. He heard the soft _click _as the door closed. Instantly, his shoulders slumped in exhaustion. He couldn't let himself fall into her sweet, delicious temptation, and take a chance at being with her—it would only complicate things. Naruto would be endlessly jealous; a headache the Uchiha didn't need. He couldn't, and he wouldn't, fall in love with Sakura. _No. Never._

As his head began to clear from the haze Sakura left upon him, Sasuke sighed, getting back in his hospital bed. Slowly, but surely, he fell into slumber; dreaming about a certain pink haired kunoichi whose fragile heart was more than likely ripped in a thousand pieces.

Her tears slowly transformed his dream into a hideous nightmare. Her cherry pink petals withered and she died.

* * *

Sakura couldn't believe it. She just...couldn't. The moment she had told Sasuke about her fighting Gaara of the Sand (and winning, mind you), she saw a horrible anger on his face. She had been so shocked, she didn't know what on earth to do, other than get away from his fury. She never wanted to see that hideous monster on her Sasuke-kun ever again.

Honestly, she didn't know why he had gotten so upset. _I thought I was going to make him proud of me, _she thought sadly, the hiccups returning, rocking her small body as she walked brokenly down the hall. She cried slick, hot tears as she stumbled back to the arena doors, where everybody else was. They blurred her vision until she was forced to blink them away. She made no move to stifle her sobs as she looked on through the glass. She could see Kakashi-sensei teasing Naruto, enough to make him have one of his hilarious outbursts. They were okay. They were happy. Just seeing the smiles on their faces (well, Naruto's at least) was enough to stop her from crying. She was starting her healing process again—slowly.

Inner Sakura was silent through the whole disaster with Sasuke, leaving Sakura to defend for herself, but now she finally decided to pipe up.

**That asshole had no reason to do that to us! **Inner snarled, cracking her knuckles furiously while stomping in a circle. **We should go back there and show him who's boss! **As much as Inner tried, she couldn't cheer the rosette up quite enough. She just sighed heavily, the tears returning with a vengeance. _No, no, it wasn't supposed to happen this way! Sasuke was supposed to be so proud of me for saving Lee's life that he would reward me with a kiss,_ she whimpered to herself, not being able to bear the sight of Kakashi and Naruto any longer. She turned. _He was supposed to ask for my hand in marriage._

_Okay, maybe not the marriage bit, but the first part, certainly!_

The Konoha kunoichi ran away from the arena doors quickly before her knees beginning to buckle. "H-how could he?" She gasped, tears leaking from her eyes. She stopped and pressed her back to the wall closest to her, sliding down (ignoring the pain that shot up her spine) as her hands covered her bruised face. She didn't care if it hurt to touch herself, she deserved every part of the agony Gaara and Sasuke had put upon her. _It's my fault. All my fault.._. Her shoulders trembled and shuddered with her sobs. _How could he be so mean? I did it for him. _

For once, Inner didn't have a reply. She kept quiet and left, not knowing how to cope with the sadness that gnawed at the cherry blossom's spirit. _  
_

If the young blossom had been paying closer attention to her surroundings, she would have sensed the Sand nin's chakra coming to stand in front of her, with his arms crossed. It was his raspy voice that ripped her from her painful void and made her raise her head feebly.

"Stop with your pathetic tears," he said flatly, his stone cold sea foam eyes glaring down at her. **Well! **Inner sneered, puffing herself up. **Isn't he all high and mighty now? Maybe we should punch him again! **The Leaf nin glared at Gaara with all her might, clenching her teeth. But her eyes had started to hurt from crying. So, instead, she got to her feet and tightened her shaking hands into fists.

"I'm not in the mood for this, Gaara," she snapped, her hair falling into her face. The locks Sasuke had gently played with... For another split second, a tear fell from her left eye. _Sasuke..._

"You're stronger than this, Haruno. I wouldn't let a sniveling wimp defeat me. Save your tears for something bigger than Uchiha."

It seemed forced, but... Was that an offhanded compliment? From Gaara? Living, _breathing,_ Gaara?

She finally looked him in the eye, utterly confused and dumbfounded. "How did you know I was crying because of Sasuke-kun?" If the pinkette hadn't known better, she would have sworn she saw Gaara's eyes narrow a fraction. Her brain didn't seem to register the fact that they were very close now, as she had taken a step toward him, interested on the topic of her beloved.

But Gaara just turned, his face as stoic as ever, and walked away in the direction of the arena doors. Sakura's eyes fluttered—she didn't feel like crying any more. But she wasn't completely happy, either. _How did he know about Sasuke and why did he compliment me?_ She turned his way and stared daggers into his back. _And __ did he say he 'let' me beat the crap outta him? I totally won, fair and square. Why the little...  
_

"Hey, Sandy," she called, putting her hands on her hips and cocking them to the side. Gaara didn't stop nor flinch at his new found nickname, but continued to put distance between them.

Sakura softened—he _was_ scary as all living fuck, and almost killed one of her dear friends (_including _her), but he might have been trying to cheer her up a moment ago. She didn't like it that he had put down her Sasuke-kun, of course not, but... Sakura had a very kind and forgiving heart, so she would let it slip.

This time, of course. Next time she wouldn't be so generous.

"Thank you."

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not and will not ever own Naruto. All credit for the anime/manga/characters goes to Masashi Kishimoto.

A/N: This is incredibly late. BUT, I hope you enjoy it. I wanted to make Sasuke's inner demons a little more prominate. If he's a little too OOC, I apologize. Same with Gaara. It sounds a lot darker than I thought it would be. XD It may also seem short, but I put a fuck load more effort into it. Can ya tell? Canyacanyacanyacanya? Thank you, EVERYONE, who kept this in their favorites. I love you guys! *heart* Cookies and cakes for all of youuu!

Chapters will no longer be titled with songs! :3

And just to clarify, they're about fourteen, still genin. Since it's three years before Naruto Shippuden, and I think they are sixteen or seventeen, I thought it would make more sense. :E


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